14Nov 2019 by CJ
Auschwitz – understanding that no one is born to hate

Auschwitz – understanding that no one is born to hate

Life & Living, Youth
Last weekend, my wife and I traveled east from our home in Colorado to a wedding in New York. While there, we attended an exhibit we booked months in advance, at one of New York’s rich, cultural museums. It was called Auschwitz – Not long ago. Not far away. A special exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Auschwitz, “Is the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz and its role in the Holocaust ever presented in North America, and an unparalleled opportunity to confront the singular face of human evil.” According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, and the Auschwitz exhibit brought that reality to life leaving many visitors in disbelief. The entire exhibit was incredibly distressing –…
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07Nov 2019 by CJ
Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a fun, playful holiday classic – that’s all!

Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a fun, playful holiday classic – that’s all!

Life & Living
John Legend and Kelly Clarkson have remade a holiday classic - Baby, It’s Cold Outside. What’s so newsworthy about that you might be asking? Well, apparently some members of the #MeToo movement have issues with the song’s lyrics, claiming they sound too “date-rapey”. They’ve even gone so far as to petition radio stations to have the song pulled from holiday rotation - successfully in some cases I might add. Here are some of the revised lyrics to Baby, It’s Cold Outside: Clarkson: "What will my friends think..."Legend: "I think they should rejoice"Clarkson: "...if I have one more drink?"Legend: "It's your body, and your choice." There is a long list of well-known crooners who have sung Baby, It’s Cold Outside over the years. Highly admired and respected names such as Dean…
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29Oct 2019 by CJ
Email etiquette is all about respecting other’s time

Email etiquette is all about respecting other’s time

Information & Education, Life & Living
The other day I realized that we all learned reading, writing and arithmetic from our wonderful teachers across the United States. But when were we ever taught email etiquette? If you can believe it, the very first network email was sent back in 1971 – invented by American computer programmer Ray Tomlinson. It’s been almost 50 years and the technology has revolutionized the way in which we interact, both professionally and personally. Admittedly, email etiquette (as it pertains to business) is nothing more than common sense.  Keep your tone professional, practice proper grammar and punctuation, make subject lines clear, re-read before hitting send, and the list goes on and on. Honestly, I’ll forgive bad grammar and even vague subject lines in favor of what I believe is the number one…
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10Oct 2019 by CJ
Where you sleep is something you should never take for granted

Where you sleep is something you should never take for granted

Life & Living
Have you ever paused from the daily chaos of life to think about where you sleep? I know that sounds strange but stay with me for a minute here. This week, I’ve been battling a head cold – you know, the kind that makes your sinuses feel like they’re on fire and everything you eat just tastes bad. Sleeping? Well, that’s a fun task. You raise you head up so high with a series of pillows that you might as well be sitting up. And forget about finding a comfortable position as you flip from one side to the other savoring your one clear nostril and hoping the other miraculously clears up. Something else happens when I’m sick like this – my snoring becomes unbearable. Knowing that my beautiful wife…
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10Sep 2019 by CJ
Music fades away in a relationship between soul mates

Music fades away in a relationship between soul mates

Life & Living, Love & Relationships
I wrote the lyrics to The Music Fades Away on September 14, 2001 – three days after the 9/11 attacks. Having lived in the New York Metro Area at the time – having seen the buildings under siege first hand – was an insane reality for me. To be that close to one of the worst terrorist attacks on our country was truly incomprehensible.  When all was said and done, thousands of lives had been lost. Thousands of husbands and wives would not be coming home to their loved ones – a thought which hit me hard having just been married myself in May of that year. As a writer, it’s always interesting for me to go back through dozens of journals, spiral-bound notebooks and even countless pieces of scrap…
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